


Something Old, Something New

by themutanthamster



Series: Into Battle [2]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: But mostly fluff, Fluff, M/M, and the tiniest bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-07
Updated: 2014-10-07
Packaged: 2018-02-20 06:20:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2418203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themutanthamster/pseuds/themutanthamster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been two years since John's marriage was annulled and Sherlock wants to offer him a new commitment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Something Old, Something New

Sherlock turns the small box over in his hands. He opens the lid and stares at the understated ring inside, a simple platinum band. He’d bought it last year on a whim and promptly hid it in the pocket of a coat John had threatened to burn. Sherlock wanted to present it to John this day last year, on the first anniversary of both John’s annulment and their first official date. The box had sat in his pocket all throughout their dinner at Angelo’s (a tradition they were continuing this year), but he couldn’t do it. After John’s travesty of a first marriage Sherlock wasn’t sure he would want to go through that again. So the box stayed in the corner of the closet, only removed when Sherlock had time alone.

“Sherlock? We should get going love, I’m starving!”

The call from the sitting room draws Sherlock out of his thoughts. He moves to put the box back in the closet but places it in the pocket of his Belstaff lying on the bed. At least he can pretend.

***

The walk to Angelo’s is comfortably quiet. Angelo greets them with his usual enthusiasm and sits them at their usual table. He leaves them with a bottle of wine and a wink. John picks up his menu.

“Why do you bother looking at the menu? You are just going to order fettuccini anyway.”

John snorts and glances up at him from the menu before setting it down.

“Drink your wine Sherlock.”

Sherlock smirks at him as Angelo comes over to take their order.

Dinner seems to pass quickly. The food is good and Sherlock actually eats. Their conversation flows easy and as they linger over the tiramisu John ordered, the box in Sherlock’s pocket weighs on his mind. He would like nothing more than to legally bind himself to John, but the thought that John might not want to do the same stops him, just as it did last year. He tries not to let his rather maudlin thoughts show on his face. John’s face never shifts from a soft smile so Sherlock knows he’s succeeding.

They grab their coats and head back to Baker Street.

***

They hardly have their coats off before John goes to make them tea. Sherlock settles onto the sofa. It’s still early in the evening so Sherlock flicks on the television, hoping for something not boring. John hands him his tea and settles beside him and switches channels to some insipid talk show. Sherlock spends the next hour deducing the guests for John’s amusement. When the show ends Sherlock goes to change the channel to one of those spy movies John likes but John turns off the television. Sherlock looks at him, confused. John fidgets for a few seconds more taking a deep breath to calm himself.

“…Err, Sherlock. I know you don’t really go in for big expressions of sentiment so please consider the practical aspects of what I’m about to ask. We’ve been together for a quite a few years, both as friends and as partners. I can’t see myself being with anyone else for the rest of my life so-“

Sherlock’s breath, held since John first started talking about sentiment, whooshes out of him as John sinks to one knee and pulls a slightly tattered black box from in behind the cushions.

“Sherlock Holmes, will you marry me?”

***

Sherlock sits stunned. He blinks a few times and some objective part of his brain notes he had a similar reaction when John asked him to be his best man. Another logical part of his brain deduces the ring to be antique, likely belonging to John’s grandfather (mother’s side, John’s father sold all his valuables for liquor). The rest of his brain is repeating John’s words: _marry me, marry me, marry me_. Clearly, he’s been silent too long because John’s talking again.

“It’s really very practical. There are quite a few tax benefits and we’ll be able to visit each other in hospital without any help from Mycroft.”

Sherlock mentally shakes his head to clear it.

“So you want to get married because of the legal benefits?”

John shrugs.

“I plan on spending the rest of my life with you anyway, might as well get the full legal benefits of it.”

Sherlock stands abruptly and marches to his coat. After a brief rummage through the pocket he marches back to the sofa, and a very concerned John, with his own ring clutched tightly in his hand. He flips open the lid and present his ring to John.

“John, while I appreciate your practicality, I ask that you marry me because I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you, legal benefits be damned.”

John blinks at the ring hovering a few centimeters from his face and bursts out laughing, surely the result of nerves and irony. Sherlock soon joins him. By the time they quiet down, Sherlock’s stomach hurts and John is wiping moisture from his eyes. John’s still chuckling when he speaks again.

“Can I take that as a yes?”

***

John wakes up with a sleeping detective plastered to his back. He sighs in contentment and settles himself more comfortably into his pillow. He lifts his hand to study the ring that now adorns it.

_Engaged. To Sherlock Holmes._

No matter how many times he tells himself this is real he can’t quite believe it. The slight weight of the ring is his only assurance that it wasn’t a dream.

Sherlock nuzzles into the back of his neck.

“Morning love.”

Sherlock smiles into his hair.

“Good morning, husband-to-be.”

John grins and turns in Sherlock’s arms to face him. He kisses the tip of Sherlock’s nose as Sherlock’s hands come to rest around his waist.

“I think I like the sound of that.”

Sherlock runs his lips along the side of John’s neck before claiming his lips in an all too quick kiss.

“As do I. What were you thinking about so hard it caused me to wake up?”

John snorts a laugh as Sherlock’s lips continue their wandering over his face.

“My thinking can’t wake you up.”

Sherlock speaks against John’s temple.

“When you think too hard you get tense, thus waking me up. So what were you thinking?”

John sighs as he answers.

“Just wondering about the odds of us both wanting to propose on the same night. I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised, after all it was an anniversary of sorts, no better day to pop the question. Don’t know when you had time to buy a ring though. We just finished a series of rather intensive cases.”

Sherlock tucks his face into John’s neck to respond, anticipating his own embarrassment and unsure of what John’s reaction will be.

“I actually purchased that ring last year. I was going to propose but I wasn’t sure it was something you would want after the last time. I wasn’t going to propose this year either. I just wanted to pretend the option was open.”

John kisses the top of Sherlock’s head, both incredibly touched by the uncharacteristic display of sentiment, and saddened that Sherlock thought it was something he wouldn’t want.

“Thank you for thinking about my feelings Sherlock, but I need you to know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I want the world to know it. And marriage is more convenient than shouting it from the rooftops. It didn’t work last time because I was with the wrong person. This time it will be different because I’ll have the right person at my side.”

Sherlock clutches John tighter. John gently slides his hand into Sherlock’s curls and guides his head up for a kiss. They spend precious minutes exploring each other’s mouth before they break apart and Sherlock tuck his face back into John’s neck.

“John?”

“Mm?”

“This time we’re going with the swan fold.”

John has a brief flashback to a pile of neatly folded napkins and chuckles into Sherlock’s hair. This time he’s with the right one.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again! Hope you enjoyed. I've always been a sucker for fluffy proposal fics. I have at least one more fic planned for this 'verse and now that midterms are over I should be able to write it up quick.  
> Also, a reminder, if you want to find me on tumblr I'm myfavouriteshockblanket.tumblr.com.


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